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April 24 , 2006
Woodruff Library stacks renovation to continue

BY Christi gray

Starting May 30, Woodruff Library will close Level 5 for phase two of its stack tower renovation. This is the next step in the University’s long-term initiative to increase shelving capacity in Woodruff in order to keep the library’s collection on campus and accessible.

Plans call for the renovation of one stack floor every two or three years, eventually increasing the current
1.2 million-volume capacity to 1.8 million. Phase one of renovation, from June 2003 to February 2004, made Woodruff’s fourth floor its first to be equipped with compact, movable shelving, expanding the floors capacity by roughly 50 percent.

Level 5 will undergo similar renovations. Features like new carpet, paint and ceilings, and a new lounge area near the elevator lobby with armchairs and couches will make the library more inviting and comfortable for users. The plan also calls for improved office and study space and installation of a photocopier and stand-up EUCLID terminal.

“Students and faculty have registered unanimous approval to the new Level 4,” said Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Linda Matthews. “They love the brightness of the colors and light levels and the open space with comfortable chairs and sofa to spread out, read and study.”

The American literature collection, consisting of books starting with call number PS, has already been moved from the fifth floor to the fourth in preparation for the renovation, and the remainder (PJ–PR, mostly non-American literature) will be placed in the Storage Library located in the Material Center at 1762 Clifton Road. The Storage Library houses materials from all of the Emory libraries in a special, climate-controlled environment.

The move to storage is scheduled to begin May 30 and is expected to take two weeks. During that time, the books will not be accessible. Once the move is complete, the library will retrieve books on request. A link in EUCLID will take users to a retrieval request form for PJ–PR items. If someone wishes to use large numbers of items, there will be a small work area at the Storage Library for use by appointment, but the facility does not accommodate browsing because of the way the books are stored.

“We have more concern about the literature collection on Level 5 than we did with Level 4 materials,” Matthews said. “These are high-use collections, so we do expect a lot more traffic in retrieval from the Storage Library, and we are planning for that.”

Requested materials should be retrieved within 24 hours from storage and delivered to Woodruff’s circulation desk for pick-up, though increased volume may at times result in longer retrieval time. There will be no retrieval on weekends.

Level 5 offices and other spaces used by faculty and graduate students for extended research are moving to Level 6 during renovation. The Schatten Gallery offices are moving to the Level 6 seminar rooms; the Loeb classics collection is moving to room 676; and the art history reading collection is moving from room 674 to the Level 6 reshelving area.

Matthews said Level 5 materials are expected to be back in Woodruff by January 2007. For more information about the Woodruff Library renovation, contact Matthews at liblm@emory.edu or project manager Charles Forrest at libcgf@emory.edu.

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